Battle of the motorized skateboards

Don't look now, but some of the hottest competition in personal transportation may be coming from motorized skateboards. (On second thought, you probably should look now, for your own safety.)

Not long ago we featured the "E-Glide Powerboard," thinking it was a novelty item for oldsters like us trying to relive their reckless youth but without the same physical durability. But apparently the demand is more than just a whim if you ask the guys behind the "Metroboard," the latest to enter the market.

On paper, the Metroboard--made by a small start-up in Portland, Ore.--seems superior to better-known E-Glide. Both are around $500 (ouch), but the Metroboard is significantly lighter and comes in two sizes. The E-Glide's 20-mph top speed is higher than Metroboard's 14 mph, but we don't expect to be breaking any records anyway. More important to us, at least from a usability (and safety) standpoint, Metroboard has a wireless remote that controls software for "smooth acceleration and braking."

If we were going to try one of these, the last thing we'd want to worry about is getting tangled up in a corded remote; we'd be too busy just trying not to kill ourselves.